Voices From Rock Bottom DJ Prof B

Originally born in Ukraine, Anna migrated to New York at the age of 6. At 12, her family moved again to Staten Island. As a young adult, she moved to several places around the country but Staten Island was where Anna felt at home.
Anna considers herself to be a compassionate and service-oriented person, she has always gravitated towards helping people in some way. She has spent the majority of her life in the food service and hospitality industry.
In April, Anna will be celebrating 2 years of continuous sobriety from alcohol and drugs. She’s currently learning more about herself and navigating her way through this crazy, beautiful life.

Through the years before and after getting sober, Anna has grown passionate about combining mind, body, and soul through naturopathy, holistic wellness, and cooking. Her dream is to one day provide the community with a place to learn and experience a way of life that is more harmonious with the Earth.

Linny has been sober since 1/1/2017. She is a down-to-earth kind of woman, and loves anything that feeds her soul … such as her cat and music.
Hopefully, we will get to learn more about Linny from the radio show.
But, she does want everyone to know, that she’s still figuring “it” all out … meaning life!

If you would like to be a guest on Voices From Rock Bottom, please email VoicesFromRockBottom@gmail.com

Voices From Rock Bottom is taped at the Maker Park Radio studios. They are a non profit community streaming radio station in Staten Island. Check out more of their programming or donate at www.MakerParkRadio.nyc
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Andy is 54 years old. He was born and raised on Staten Island, and worked in the Maritime Industry for about 20 years, or so.





Andy has been fortunate enough to have traveled his whole life. His favorite way to travel is planning totally random trips to Wyoming or the Grand Canyon with just the clothes on his back and his motorcycle.
When he’s home, he enjoys “pickin’ a bit” at the banjo.

Voices From Rock Bottom is recorded at the Maker Park Radio studio and is produced by Maker Park Radio and Dr. Prof. B..
www.MakerParkRadio.nyc is a community streaming radio station and a 501c3 Non Profit. You can donate to them here. Thank you.
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"Wrestling With Recovery, and Life Beyond Your Wildest Dreams"
Voices From Rock Bottom is a Community-Based digital storytelling project on Alcoholism, Addiction & Recovery with Dr. Prof B.

Recorded at www.MakerParkRadio.nyc
Follow us on @VoicesFromRockBottom
For more info, or to be a guest on VFRB email VoicesFromRockBottom@gmail.com

Brian is a 52 year old Staten Island native. He went to Tottenville High School, where he fell in love with playing the drums. Before becoming a full-time New York City Sanitation worker, Brian worked as a stagehand. After 21 years of service with DSNY, he retired.
Currently, he works part-time at Lifestyles for the Disabled. Although helping others is a true passion of his, Brian loves spending time with his three kids … and riding his motorcycle on “down time”.

Salvatore grew up in Midland Beach, Staten Island. Today, Sal continues to be an advocate for recovery in his own personal way, as well as being a proud father to his new baby son.
When Sal isn’t helping others, you can find him in the ring, as the pro-fighting wrestler named “Cyrus DeVille”. @CyrusDeVille89







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In this weeks podcast, Dr. Prof B interviews two of her prior students. The discuss peer pressure, and the college experience and what they learned in class.

Juliette:
With recovery, comes everyone’s own stories. Throughout our lives, we may be given a reason that leads us to that road of recovery. 
Last year, I faced one of the most tragic events that can happen to a 19 year old. My Mom passed away after her eight year battle with cancer. My Mom never let one day pass without fighting back the strongest she could. Nothing stopped her from doing what she wanted. Right after a six hour chemotherapy session, she sat at my four hour High School Graduation.
Nothing defines strength like my Mom did. The reason I am sharing my recovery story through her, is because her legacy is what inspires me to continue on my own journey. Her death didn’t define the strength I would gain through my recovery, but her whole life did. 
A little more about me … I am a student at St. John’s University, and like any other college student, I have my good and bad days. For anyone recovering from a loss or even an addiction, the process doesn’t happen overnight. As a student in Professor Bacigalupo’s English class, a very important thing I learned through the community literature and recovery narratives, is that like recovery, life is one day at a time. There are no promises or guarantees. I am a true believer that everything happens for a reason. There was a reason I signed up for her class; I gained more knowledge of what recovery truly means. Recovery doesn’t go for one specific hardship we may face, but for anything that steers us to a place we feel helpless at.

Joe:

Growing up in Staten Island for the past 20 years, I was never numb to seeing people battling addiction. Some battling addiction with alcohol, some with pills, others with heavy duty narcotics.
It wasn’t until last year that I realized addiction didn’t have a type. I quickly began to understand that addiction was extremely non- discriminatory. Addiction doesn’t care if you are black or white, a man or a woman, catholic or jewish, rich or poor (or anything in-between).
The fear of addiction actually changed my life in a way I would have never imagined. Living in Staten Island, being gay isn’t something that you come across everyday. Even though it is 2018 and there are big movements in the LGBTQ+ community, Staten Island seems to be a little behind the times. This reason, along with a few other personal reasons, kept me from being myself for a good portion of my life.
However, 2017 was the biggest year of my life so far. My crazy, depressed, irrational and preconceived thoughts and insecurities finally pushed me to the point where I knew I had to come out, because if I hid my true self any longer, I may have filled that void in my life with a few easy fixes that made all those feelings and thoughts go away.
Looking back on the past year of my life, I can honestly say that the fear and reality of addiction actually benefited my life inadvertently. Addiction is something that is not new to me. I have been exposed to addiction my whole life, and after taking Professor B’s class, my understanding of addiction was broadened.
Aside from all of that, I am a pretty average young adult. I go to school, work and love to hangout with my friends. As it stands right now, I don’t know where my life is going, but then again, does anyone really know where their life if going?

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Steve and Dr. Prof B talk about the "G word" in recovery, and how connecting to a higher power and purpose has guided them both. Steve led the vow ceremony at Dr. Prof B's wedding.

"Being asked to write 400 words about myself in the third person is extremely awkward and alien to me; so I will not even attempt to. I am not an author who’s picture sits on the dust cover of my latest novel. I am an unfinished sentence in a book far larger than myself. I am so grateful that is the case and that is where a God who has always loved me despite myself comes right in.
As a friend of mine says, “Its not so much what alcohol did to me, but rather what it did for me” and how true that statement is for me then and now.
God sought fit to interrupt my death the afternoon of November 30th 2003: prior to that I was diagnosed with multiple disorders and labels. For as long as I can remember I always sought something outside me to make me “RIGHT” on the inside as well as in the world. I sought it in books that would hopefully provided with some Willy Wonka type golden ticket to coupe with myself, my thoughts, past and life. I sought in the medications prescribed for the particular psychosis of the time. I sought in the multitude of therapists, yogi’s, healers, priests and anyone who’d listen in hopes they would have “THE” answer. The answer was always there though; as close as the air I breath then and now.
I grew up always believing in God, my mother had an unflinching faith and love for “my best friend Jesus” which I read years after her passing in a letter . She described a loneliness as a child that only He filled. I am my mothers son. She also sought God in booze. Alcohol did far more then intoxicate me physically; it set me free. I sought so much in the bottom of a bottle of Gin. My seeking cannot yield. Even more so this very day removed from all  substances.
The life I “GET” to live today is based on ultimately two things: Gods grace and Recovery. I am a son, brother, brother in law, uncle, nephew, RN, sponsor, sponsee, co-worker, friend..anything I am and everything I will be is because of those two tremendous gifts. The thing that almost killed me is now my greatest resource. God was always present. I found Him not in the church above but the basement below when I came to the end of “MY” own resources with His arms wide open, His love abundant and a tear in His eye saying, “welcome home”."
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Relapse, Recovery and Paying it forward: Ambrose was born and raised in New York, during the 90s. The name “Ambrose” was given to him by his Irish-Catholic grandfather, originating from Greece meaning “immortal”. Although unsure why his grandfather began calling him that, he grew up in a Catholic household, and Saint Ambrose was known for composing, acts of generosity, and helping others despite their social class status. The nickname has stayed with him since his childhood.


Today, Ambrose is a Buddhist, free-thinker, egalitarian, aspiring poet and writer, lover of music, and a naturalist. He received a Bachelors in Political Science and a Masters in Education.


With 5 years of sobriety to date, he is an active and proud member of a 12-Step program. Ambrose considers himself to be a teacher by trade, but forever, a student of life.
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